Italy suspends transfer accord of asylum seekers in Switzerland

© Keystone / Christian Beutler

The Swiss authorities say Italy is blocking the return of asylum seekers despite an international accord on migration.

The State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said the Italian government had notified Switzerland three weeks ago about a temporary suspension of Dublin accord which regulates responsibilities for the examination of asylum applications among member states of the European Union, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

As a result of the suspension, 184 people can’t be sent back to Italy, SEM confirmed a report in the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.

Italy said it was struggling to cope with a large number of new migrants crossing the Mediterranean sea by boat, while pressure is increasing on refugee centres in Switzerland.

Of the 184 people concerned, 152 are in the asylum seekers and the remainder have no legal residence status in Switzerland, according to the SEM. However, Transfers based on the bilateral readmission agreement between Switzerland and Italy are not affected by this measure.

Asylum centres struggling

The office said it had taken note of Italy’s decision and cancelled some the transfers at short notice. However, it expected Rome to resume its obligations under the Dublin agreement again in the near future.

Italy’s move comes at a time when the Swiss cantonal authorities in charge of asylum matters are struggling to provide enough accommodation for applicants.

“These 184 people are blocking the limited capacity that we would prefer to use for people seeking protection who can stay here longer,” Florian Düblin, secretary-general of the cantonal justice and police directors, is was quoted in the newspaper as saying.

Ten days ago the Swiss government approved the deployment of up to 500 military personnel to cope with the influx of refugees and asylum seekers over the past months.